If you live on the move, you already know this truth: Technology and Humanity for digital nomads is not a slogan. It is your daily life. You depend on devices to work, learn, earn, and stay close to people you love, and you also feel the cost when screens start replacing real presence.
TL;DR
Computers are no longer distant machines in offices. They are tools in our hands, on our laps, and in our pockets that shape how we speak, learn, fight, forgive, and build together. For a person who grew up along the Sobat River with mud, war, and hunger as daily subjects, meeting a computer felt like meeting a creature from another planet. Over time, that creature became a friend, a teacher, and a bridge. If we use technology with wisdom and humanity, it can draw us closer instead of tearing us apart.
My first awkward handshake with a computer
The first time I touched a computer, I did not feel confident. I felt confused.
The keyboard looked like a typewriter that had swallowed a calculator. The screen glowed like a small moon in a dark room. The mouse sat there on the table, and I almost tried to push it like a bar of soap instead of holding it. For someone who grew up learning life from rivers, cattle, and village fires, this plastic box felt like a visitor from a different world.
One of my first serious encounters was during my ICT training at Emmanuel Christian College in Yei in 2009. I was already an adult. Many people meet computers as children, but for me it came late. My classmates and I sat in front of those machines like students facing a strict headmaster. We feared clicking the wrong thing and “breaking” it.
Still, even in that awkwardness, I sensed a quiet promise. I did not have fancy language for it at the time. I only knew the machine was a doorway.
Technology and Humanity for digital nomads on the road
Digital nomads do not just “use” technology. We live inside it. A laptop becomes an office, a phone becomes a bank, and an internet signal becomes a border pass.
When you move between cities, countries, or time zones, your devices become your steady ground. You can lose a home address and still keep your work, your contacts, your calendar, your writing, your photos, and your identity documents in a small bag. That is both a gift and a risk.
2.1) The world in your pocket
Today, the average smartphone has more power than the computers that helped send humans to the moon. Yet we also use that power for arguments, distractions, and endless scrolling.
Still, the simple fact remains: computers have folded the world into something we can carry.
I have sat in Juba and received messages from friends in the United States, South Africa, and Asia within seconds. I have written articles in a small room and watched them reach readers I will never meet. I have used my phone to coordinate work between Juba, rural counties, and partners beyond South Sudan.
Once, during a tense situation, I received a WhatsApp message from someone in another continent saying, “We are praying for you by name.” That sentence crossed oceans and time zones to land in my hand. In that moment, the world felt like a digital village.
2.2) The digital language we share
Computers speak a shared language that crosses cultures. “Enter” still means “go.” “Delete” still means “remove.” Ctrl+Z still rescues you from your own mistake.
It does not matter if you are Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, Bari, or from Japan, Brazil, or Canada. When you click “Send,” the action is the same. Online, we all become users who forget passwords, complain about slow internet, and panic when the battery reaches one percent.
When I joined platforms like Wealthy Affiliate and other online communities, I met people from many countries. Different histories. Different accents. Same tools. Same learning pains. Same small victories.
When technology became my teacher while I was moving
I began writing with pen and paper, and later with typewriters. A single mistake on a typewriter was an event. You either corrected it awkwardly or started again.
Then I met Microsoft Word.
Suddenly, mistakes could disappear with one click. Whole paragraphs could move from one chapter to another without scissors or glue. For someone who would go on to write and publish over a hundred books, that shift did not just save time. It changed what was possible.
Technology also became my classroom. Through online platforms, I studied Business Management and Human Psychology. I watched lectures from people in countries I had never visited. A boy who once walked miles to find a school could later sit in a room and download a full course.
But computers also humbled me. I still remember losing hours of work when a file failed to save, or when a flash drive died without warning. That pain taught me discipline. Backups are not luxury. They are respect for your own life and time.
What technology gives us when we use it with humanity
Technology can serve unity when we treat humans as the main point.
4.1) Communication without borders
Families separated by war or migration can make video calls. Friends can stay close even when distance is forced. Teams can coordinate health, education, and emergency work across long distances.
4.2) Shared knowledge
A child in a South Sudanese village with a basic smartphone can access public learning resources that used to be locked behind gates. Tutorials, articles, and lectures open doors that were once closed.
4.3) Cultural exchange
A dance posted in Uganda can inspire youth in Europe. A South Sudanese song can be heard in Australia. Poems, recipes, and proverbs can travel freely, helping people learn each other instead of fearing each other.
4.4) Global support and solidarity
Computers allow people to stand together for justice and humanitarian causes, even when they are far apart. Stories of suffering and courage can reach the global stage.
For me, as a pro-humanity writer, technology has carried my small voice farther than pen and paper could.
What technology takes when we forget humanity
Computers are not angels. They carry dangers that show up quietly.
5.1) Disconnection while “connected”
I have sat at tables where everyone is present but no one is there. Eyes down. Screens glowing. The world is loud, and the person beside you becomes silent.
5.2) Tribalism 2.0
Social media can harden divisions. Old conflicts move from the battlefield to the comment section. Words become weapons. Rumors spread faster than facts.
5.3) Information overload
When everything screams for attention, the heart gets tired. We scroll until we become numb. We learn a lot and act on little.
5.4) Digital inequality
For every child in London using a tablet in school, there is another child in South Sudan walking far to find a shared computer or a charging point. I have seen clinics and schools without stable power or internet. Technology can connect, but it can also widen gaps.
Humor keeps us human, even on the road
Technology often makes us laugh, sometimes at ourselves.
The first time I heard people talk about “the cloud,” I looked at the sky and wondered if my files were floating above my head with the birds. When I learned the “cloud” was simply someone else’s computers on the ground, I felt both cheated and relieved.
There are many moments like that. Autocorrect turning my Nuer or Dinka words into strange English. A wrong click sending an email before I finish. A meeting link that refuses to open when you are already late.
You might also like: Essential Computer Skills for the 21st Century: From Basics to Advanced Tips
Laughter is one of our oldest tools for unity. When we laugh together about frozen screens, forgotten passwords, or failed calls, we remember we share the same weaknesses.
Related reading on johnshalom.com: Essential Computer Skills for the 21st Century: From Basics to Advanced Tips
Computers as tools of peace
This might sound strange, but computers can be tools of peace.
They allow dialogue where guns once spoke. WhatsApp groups, Zoom calls, and emails can help leaders, elders, and citizens talk when face-to-face meetings would end in heat. Refugees can share their stories. Journalists can report in real time. Ordinary citizens can fact-check rumors and discourage revenge.
Translation tools are not perfect, and sometimes they are funny, but even that attempt matters. It is a small act of reaching across a language wall.
In my own work, I have used computers to write about land disputes, mobile money problems, and political issues. My aim has been to turn anger into reflection and confusion into clarity. The fact that these words can reach both my neighbor and a stranger abroad is one small way technology can support peace.
My vision: one digital family, with room for nomads
I often imagine the world as a digital village where:
- A child has a fair chance to learn basic digital skills.
- A grandmother can see her grandchildren even if they live far away.
- A tribe can tell its story in its own voice and language.
In that dream, computers are not toys for the rich. They are tools for education, health, justice, and storytelling. They help a herder check the weather, a nurse access health guidance, a young writer publish a book, and a student in a remote area attend a class.
But this dream requires responsibility. If we fill digital spaces with hate, lies, and mockery, we weaken the bridge that could carry us together. If we fill it with honesty, patience, and helpful humor, the bridge becomes stronger.
A final story: Google and the broken shoe
One day, my young nephew asked me, “Uncle, is Google smarter than you?”
I laughed and answered, “Google knows many things, but Google does not know how it feels when your shoe breaks in the middle of the market.”
I remembered walking through Juba market and realizing my shoe sole was opening like a crocodile’s mouth. A child shouted, “Uncle, your shoe is talking!” People laughed. There was nothing digital about that embarrassment, yet it was deeply human.
Computers can help us share knowledge and connect hearts, but they cannot live our lives for us. They cannot feel dust under our feet, the sting of shame, or the warmth of real hugs.
Technology should remain a tool in human hands, not a master over human lives.
If you want to read more about my path as a writer, including struggles and small signs of progress, you can find the full story on my Wealthy Affiliate blog:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/johnmaluth/blog
Reflection questions
- How has technology helped you feel connected to people beyond your tribe, community, or country?
- In your daily life, do computers and phones bring more unity or more division in your relationships? Why?
- What is the funniest or most confusing misunderstanding you have ever had with technology?
- How can you use your phone or computer as a bridge for peace and understanding, and not as a weapon for anger or gossip?
- In your vision of the future, what would it look like for technology and humanity to work together without one replacing the other?
FAQS
Q1. How can I stop technology from disconnecting me from real people?
Answer: Set simple rules like no phones during meals, or no scrolling during conversations. Turn off non-essential notifications. Use devices to arrange calls and meetups, then put them away when you are with people.
Q2. What can I do if my community has poor access to computers and internet?
Answer: Start with shared access in schools, churches, or community centers. Use offline learning materials when possible. Work with local leaders and partners to improve power and connectivity. Even one shared device, used well, can serve many people.
Q3. Do computers bring more unity or more division today?
Answer: Both. The result depends on use. Truthful, respectful communication builds unity. Lies, insults, and rumor culture deepen division.
Q4. How can I use technology as a tool for peace?
Answer: Refuse to forward unverified rumors. Slow down before posting in anger. Share accurate information, calm messages, and stories that humanize other groups.
Q5. Will computers or AI replace human beings one day?
Answer: They can replace tasks, but they cannot replace conscience, relationships, and purpose. They do not feel hunger, grief, love, or hope. The goal is wise use that protects human dignity.
